Yehya Balewa. Fordham Security Guard

Sitting in the entrance to one of Fordham’s upperclassman residence halls is Yehya Balewa. an immigrant from Ghana. His job is to ensure and care for the safety of all residents living in his building between the hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Yehya came to the United States 11 years ago. The Bronx is the first place he came to in the United States and he has never left. Yehya is a husband and father of 3 children. His wife left Ghana a year before him, and he soon followed with his children a year later.

When asked what the transition into American life was like, Yehya said he believes how one handles such a drastic change depends on the individual. For him, he found the transition was made easier by trying to maintain the same life style he formerly had. His focus remains on family and providing for them just as it did over a decade ago in Ghana. He says, “my children are my friends and that is all I need.”

Before Fordham, Yehya worked security at a different organization in the Bronx for five years. Now in his sixth year at Fordham, he enjoys the community of working in a university, especially when he gets the chance to work security at sporting events and witness the unity of the student body first hand.